


homonym

by sleepdeprivedmaniac



Category: HINAPIA (Band), PRISTIN (Band)
Genre: Blood Drinking, Exes to Lovers, F/F, Flashbacks, Minor Violence, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, cursing, hopefully not idk I tried to space them out, idk what else to tag i'm sorry, nearly 14k....I'm so tired y'all fhsajkgs, not in a kinky way more like a vampire diaries way, possible overuse of italics, the ending also a little iffy but listen it's cute and I'm tired, the quality varies here but I really tried my best guys, vampire! minky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:35:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25154818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepdeprivedmaniac/pseuds/sleepdeprivedmaniac
Summary: “You’re living a good life Kyungwon! You have good friends, you’re getting an education, you’re becoming who you were always meant to be. I knew that you could live without me, and I was right.”Kyungwon bites her tongue until it stings. “Could you?” she asks, head tilted and brows raised. An earnest question, and a dangerous one.Minkyung smiles sadly. “No,” she answers. “But it’s a good thing I’m dead, right?”alternatively: Kyungwon is terrible at getting over her ex
Relationships: Kang Kyungwon | Yuha/Kim Minkyung | Roa
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	homonym

**Author's Note:**

  * For [galaxylove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxylove/gifts).



> cw// mild-moderate violence, sorta graphic description of blood drinking
> 
> alright, this is it. I've been working on this baby for....nearly ten days straight, wow. this is yet another one that came to me as all great ideas do, in the bathroom. 
> 
> this one goes out to my girl galaxylove aka @tiffatologist on twt, thanks for always reading through my stuff and yelling with me and dealing with me even when I'm having a breakdown over crossroads for the third time that month. love you bitch mwah xoxo
> 
> as always please feel free to comment or leave constructive criticism, I adore comments. hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> homonym: each of two or more words having the same spelling or pronunciation whilst maintaining different meanings.

_Whoever decided to plant a tree right in the front of the Kim house was a blessing._ **_Although_ ** _, Kyungwon thinks, grunting with effort as she scales the oak,_ **_it wouldn’t hurt to have some better footholds._ **

_She finds the sturdy branch and carefully walks to where it reaches the roof, knocking on the window with the most light shining through. She squats as she waits, rocking back on her heels and quickly catching herself when she loses balance. Minkyung cautiously peeks through her drapes before she sighs, opening the window. “What are you doing here?”_

_Kyungwon grins sheepishly. “No ‘Hi Kyungwon, it’s nice to see you again’?”_

_Minkyung rolls her eyes and grabs her hand, pulling her through. “Hello creature of the night, why are you climbing through my window?”_

_She shrugs. “I was bored.”_

_That’s a good enough answer for the other girl, who starts going back to her desk. “Well I can’t entertain you tonight, I still have homework to finish,” she says. She’s wearing black socks and one of her brother’s tees, silver hair tied up off of her neck. It’s still close enough to summer to be hot at night, although more muggy and less sweltering. Kyungwon slips off her shoes at the window, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. The street’s fairly quiet, barring the occasional car driving past and the neighbors’ kid who always comes home after dark. The sounds of the night are calming._

_“What about the other two losers?” she asks._

_“Mingyu’s playing COD and Chae got suspended,” Minkyung answers while looking at her work. Kyungwon’s brows rise to her hairline._

_“We’ve only been in school for a month.”_

_“Yeah, I know.” She sighs, dragging her hand down her face. “Apparently this older kid’s been bothering Nagyung for weeks and today she got tired of it and just punched him.”_

_Her chest fills with a little bit of pride for the kid. “Jesus.” She chuckles and shakes her head. “What did your parents say?”_

_“I mean they’re not mad cause she did it for a good reason, but apparently he’s some PTA members’ kid and we have to make it look like she’s being punished so that Mom doesn’t get shit for it.”_

_“That’s fair.”_

_“Right? So Mom gave her a couple acting lessons and then last I heard she was on FaceTime.”_

_Kyungwon bursts out laughing, falling back on the bed as Minkyung spins in her chair to face her. Her eyes are colored with disbelief, hands gesturing quickly. “But when I get in trouble, it’s ‘you know better Minkyung,’ ‘we’re disappointed in you Minkyung.’”_

_“You rarely ever get in trouble though,” Kyungwon points out. Minkyung deflates, pouting._

_“That’s not the point,” she mumbles._

_Kyungwon sighs before sitting up, taking the hand now dangling at her friend’s side and pulling her towards the bed. Minkyung flops down beside her on her back, staring up at the blank ceiling. She turns her head, looking at the older girl with a serious expression._

_“Are you really upset about that?” she asks._

_Minkyung sighs. “No.” She pauses. “Maybe. I’m frustrated with my chem teacher too.”_

_A car races by outside, the engine kicking. Kyungwon frowns. “Mr. Park?”_

_“Yes!” Minkyung throws her hands up in frustration. “He gives us a ton of homework and then doesn’t explain anything! I don’t know why they didn’t give me Ms. Kim instead.”_

_“Maybe because you didn’t ask for AP Chem?” she suggests smartly. Minkyung quickly hits her arm before rolling onto her side. Kyungwon mirrors her._

_“Will you help me?” she asks, dark eyes wide and gleaming._

_Kyungwon sighs and tries to pretend like she ever had a choice. “I guess I can make time for you in my busy schedule,” she says dryly. Minkyung squeals before briefly connecting their lips, leaving Kyungwon wearing a dumb grin on her face when they part. They both shift so that they’re laying on their backs, arms brushing against each other. When Minkyung’s hand searches for hers she takes it, lacing their fingers together. She’s lulled to sleep by the low buzz of the night._

“What are you doing here?” Kyungwon hears, a little before one in the morning. She doesn’t startle. She used to, back when they first met again, but she’s gotten used to Minkyung’s ways of popping up around her.

“What are you doing here?” she retorts.

Minkyung ignores her. “You’re not supposed to be in here after the lab is closed.”

Apparently the irony hasn’t caught up to her yet, so she lets it go. She cocks an eyebrow, twisting in her seat to face the door. “And what are you supposed to be, the security guard?”

Minkyung rolls her eyes. “My roommate forgot her book in here and didn’t remember until she got to work.” Kyungwon glances at one of the other workstations where a large textbook has sat since she got there. She was going to give it to Nayoung in the morning, but now it’s one less thing to cross off her list. 

She doesn’t mention that, of course. Minkyung hasn’t moved, which means that she means that she doesn’t want to end the conversation yet. Which means that she can ask questions. “Nayoung is your roommate? Round head, RBF?”

Minkyung’s brows knit together. “Yes?” she answers, a little confused.

“Is she like you too?”

The older (younger?) sighs like she’s tired. Exhausted even, if she didn’t know any better. “Kyungwon...” she starts, then pauses. She sniffs the air. “Do I smell blood?”

Kyungwon bites her tongue, shifting to cover up her workstation. “I don’t know, do you? Isn’t that a normal thing nowadays?” Minkyung ignores her again, walking closer. She stands so abruptly that the stool falls, stepping protectively in front of her work. The other girl stops a foot away from her, narrowing her eyes. Her face still does that thing it does, scrunching up when she’s puzzled, absolutely baffled. Kyungwon thinks she’s too smart to be baffled right now. She also thinks of puppies, a field of flowers, the sound of a calm ocean, anything to stop feeling like her heart is about to beat out of her chest.

“Why are you afraid of me?” Minkyung asks, which might as well be the dumbest question of the day. Kyungwon wants to snort.

Responses fly through her mind like _Why wouldn’t I be_ and _I really wish I wasn’t_. “Don’t flatter yourself,” she bites out instead. “I just stood up too fast.”

Minkyung sniffs again and recoils like she smelled something rancid. “Why do you have that? What are you doing?”

“I’m not doing anything,” she says. Minkyung only stares, golden eyes that have always seemed to see right through her. “Don’t you have a book to collect?”

“Don’t lie to me, Kyungwon.” There it is, that exhaustion again. The older’s shoulders slump. “Just...please.”

She doesn’t know what pushes her to tell the truth. Probably an ill-timed bout of nostalgia. The feeling (the knowing) that maybe if she squinted she could still see the Minkyung she knew when they were dumb and devoted and seventeen. The one that she shared secrets with like they were free. Or maybe the irritating fact that she could never lie to her. Or the spot in the back of her mind that never quite seems to completely scab over. That was callously torn open again before she could even attest to it.

“I’m finding a cure,” she says. She’s never really said it out loud before. Her voice sounds small, dissipating quickly in the large room.

“A cure to what?” Minkyung asks, like she doesn’t already know the answer.

Kyungwon stands tall, looking her old friend in the eye. “To vampirism.”

_“Come on Wonnie, we’re gonna be late!”_

_“Isn’t that why we’re taking the shortcut? To not be late?” Kyungwon glances around the forest warily as she catches up, her hand slipping into Minkyung’s outstretched one. “Who even told you about this?” she asks. Minkyung turns around, starting to walk again._

_“Jieqiong did.”_

_“Well tell Jieqiong that her shortcut sucks,” she scoffs. Minkyung giggles. “I don’t like it here. I’m getting weird vibes.”_

_“Well the faster you walk, the faster you’ll be out of the woods.”_

_She raises her eyebrows. “Just me?”_

_“Yes, since you made us late.”_

_Okay, that isn’t completely her fault. So maybe she overslept in her pre-party nap. And perhaps she couldn’t keep her hands to herself while they were getting dressed, but no one told Minkyung to dress like Lara Croft for Halloween. She should’ve known the consequences._

_Anyways, the point is that Minkyung isn’t completely innocent. She has her own share of frumples and lipstick stains on her cheerleading outfit._

_She would’ve rather been late than walk through this creepy forest. No one comes on time to Jackson Wang parties anyways. It’s dumb that he lives halfway across town, and it’s extra dumb that neither of them have their licenses and none of their friends do either. And it’s extra super dumb to walk through a relatively dense forest at night without flashlights or pants. But whatever Minkyung wants, Minkyung gets. It was easier than trying to get her to change her mind._

_The walk gets better over time. Eventually she stops looking over her shoulder, and her eyes adjust to the lack of streetlights. She doesn’t release her grip on MInkyung though, not even when her hands get clammy and her palm starts to itch._

_Especially not when she hears a twig snap in the distance._

_She stops in her tracks, glancing around wildly. Minkyung gives her a confused look. “Did you hear that?”_

_“No.” Minkyung frowns, standing silent for a few seconds. When she doesn’t hear anything she tugs at Kyungwon’s hand. “It was probably just an animal. Come on, we’re like halfway there.”_

_Hesitantly, she begins to walk again, feeling goosebumps rise on her skin. A shiver runs down her back, like she can feel someone there. She starts glancing around again, trying to see if she spies figures in the dark. More twigs snap. A rabbit sprints across their path ahead of them, and she swears she hears the caw of a crow in the distance._ **_Crows aren’t even indigenous here._ **

_She tightens her grip until her knuckles turn white. “Minkyung, I’m serious. Something’s going on,” she says. Her voice shakes. She hopes she’s just imagining the muffled footsteps behind them, or the rustling in the grass._

_“We’re almost there, alright? We’ll get there safe and sound, and then we’ll get ourselves a drink, loosen up a little, and have a good time. We’re gonna be fi--” Minkyung suddenly shrieks. Everything starts to move in slow motion._

_A sharp pain blooms at the back of her head. She feels a warm liquid on her scalp, trickling down the back of her neck just before her body falls limply to the cold ground. When she wakes up the first thing she sees is Minkyung, curled up with her back against a tree, clutching her neck, and screaming at the top of her lungs._

She can feel Minkyung’s eyes on her as she looks into the microscope. Her gaze feels too flustering for some reason, a comforting gesture that’s now several years removed. She sits up with a sigh, rolling her eyes. “What?”

Minkyung gets to the point. “How did you even get vampire blood?”

“I bought it,” she says simply.

“From who?” Minkyung glances away for a second. Kyungwon can see the gears turning in her head. “People are selling vampire blood now?”

“Not many, it took years just to find one. And I only got this much about a month ago.” She picks up a small vial and shakes it in front of the other’s face. Minkyung covers her nose until she sets it down again. She rolls her eyes. “Don’t worry, you’re still staying in the shadows or whatever.” _Or hiding in plain sight, if they’re going to college now._

Minkyung swallows, staring at the vial. “Great,” she says. She sounds distracted. 

Kyungwon writes it off as odd vamp behavior, going back to the microscope. She’s pretty sure she caught all of the properties earlier in the night, taking a final look now is just a formality. Doesn’t hurt to be sure though.

It’s too quiet in the lab now. It was quiet before, but it’s different when she’s the only one there. Like she’s wrapped in a little bubble of focus. Now that it’s been popped her mind strays easily. She counts her own breaths, too aware that she’s the only one breathing in the room. 

“I’m surprised you stayed,” she says. Minkyung breaks her staring contest with the vial. 

“Huh?”

Kyungwon shrugs. “I don’t know, I just thought you would’ve left once I told the truth. Report me to your vampire council or something.”

“We don’t have a vampire council.”

She only gives the other girl a look, one that says ‘I call bullshit.’ “You forget Minky, you can’t lie to me either.”

Minkyung doesn’t bring up the nickname, which is good because she doesn’t want to talk about it. It slipped out and left a weird taste in her mouth, something bitter and mean. Instead she glances at the wall clock, watching the long hand tick past five. “You should pack it up. It’s getting late.”

“Technically it’s getting early,” Kyungwon says. Minkyung chuckles, standing and walking over to where Nayoung’s book was. “And why does that matter that much to you anyways? I thought vampires didn’t need sleep.”

“Maybe not, but you do.”

Well. She has a point. 

Minkyung picks up the book and repeatedly smacks the open side into her other palm, like it’s a paperback children’s novel and not a hundred dollar, 28-pound textbook. She stares down at her hands, a pensive expression on her face. Kyungwon knows what she’s going to say, and she dreads it. 

“I miss you,” the vampire mumbles. Kyungwon fills with anger, then hope, then pain in quick succession. It’s a very unpleasant feeling. 

She stands and rinses off the blood in the petri dish, sliding the microscope back into its place. “That’s nice,” she replies, placing her notes in her bag. Minkyung’s there as soon as she turns towards the door, bag slung over her shoulders. She didn’t even hear her move. 

Her eyes are too wide, too honest. Kyungwon wouldn’t call them lively, but the lights dance where they reflect on her pupils. “Can we not be like this?” she pleads. 

Kyungwon shifts her weight. “I don’t know, can we?”

“I don’t want to be.”

Something strikes through her chest, a twinge of guilt that she decides to ignore. “It might take a while,” she says. 

Minkyung cracks a small smile. “I’m okay with that.” 

She stays. Minkyung follows her around like a lost puppy when they don’t have classes, or when she’s not busy with other things. Which isn’t a lot of the time, so it’s not too bothersome, but it’s enough of a dissonance from what she’s gotten used to that Kyungwon doesn’t know what to make of it. She doesn’t ask why she’s inserted herself into her little project. Whether she wants to be cured or is just taking whatever chance she can get to get close again.

The latter is the safest assumption. She doesn’t ask the (second) most pressing question in fear that she’ll say yes. Because then what will she make of herself? What will this all have been for?

It’s…not as bad as she thought it would be. Minkyung is a mostly silent presence in the lab, playing with her phone and occasionally asking questions when a reaction happens or Kyungwon mumbles to herself (lit majors, seriously.) As long as they don’t talk too much, she doesn’t mind. She’s not in the mood to hear her questions go unanswered again, or in the right mind to hear them _get_ answered. It’s a very balanced limbo that she exists in.

“So you’re telling me that you didn’t dream about Huchu tearing up my pillow?” Yaebin asks accusingly. Kyungwon picks at her fries, watching in amusement as Eunwoo and Yaebin bicker in the cafeteria. 

“No! I had no idea that he would do that. And I told you, I haven’t had a dream like that in like a week.”

Yaebin crosses her arms. “Whatever. I wish you could dream about what’s on the stats test.”

Eunwoo scoffs. “Like you study anyways,” she mutters. Yaebin jumps at her and bares her teeth, slinking back when the blonde flicks her on the nose. Kyungwon blinks when a freshly manicured hand snaps in her face. “Hello? Earth to Kyungwon?”

She bats her hand away, not bothering to stop her when Eunwoo steals her fries. “Sorry, just thinking about some things.”

“Oh?” she leans forward with her elbows on the table, chin dropping into her hands. “Like what?” 

“I’m thinking of how much a new pillow costs,” Yaebin laments.

“Shut up, no one asked you.”

Kyungwon sighs. “I’ve...recently reconnected with an old friend. I guess we’re working together now, which is alright I guess, but I know that she wants things to be back to how they were. But I can’t just do that so easily, because she hurt me. I’m still healing, I guess.”

The cafe bustles around them as the pair take in their friend’s words. She watches as Yaebin takes a bite of her ramen, chewing thoughtfully. “Well,” she starts, “if your friend wants all that and she hasn’t apologized for hurting you the first time, then she’s kind of a dick.”

Eunwoo nods. “I agree.” Yaebin pauses her chewing, staring at the blonde.

“Hell has frozen over.”

Kyungwon almost starts to defend Minkyung before she stops, brows knitting together. Maybe it’s a little bit of her fault since she’s limited their interactions, but over the past two weeks she hasn’t once brought up how she hurt her. Shit, sometimes it’s like she tries to forget that she even left. It’s tactless, as insensitive as she knows Minkyung _not_ to be. Then again, things might have changed. 

Yaebin sighs, covering her hand with her own. “Look, if you really want to reconnect with your friend then you two should have a long talk. She needs to know--clearly know--that you’re still hurt, and you need to know that she cares that she hurt you.”

She feels Minkyung before she sees her walking towards them. She wonders if she heard what Yaebin said, if she even does feel bad about what she did. 

“Hello,” she greets, stopping at their table. Eunwoo and Yaebin greet her back, looking a little confused. One day Kyungwon will merge her two worlds together. She tenses at the hand that comes to rest on her shoulder, watches as Minkyung’s nose crinkles similar to how it did in the lab. “Can I borrow her for a minute?”

“Uh, sure?” Eunwoo says.

“Thanks.”

She takes Kyungwon’s hand, leading her outside of the cafe. Once they’re far enough away Minkyung’s face goes back to normal. She coughs, rubbing at her nose. “What’s up with your friend?”

Kyungwon furrows her brow. “Eunwoo? She can be a bit eccentric at times, but--”

“No no, the other one.” Minkyung rubs at her nose again. “She smells like wet dog.” Kyungwon doesn’t know what she’s talking about, but she won’t question someone with a ten times better sense of smell than hers. She doesn’t think any of their friends own a dog though.

They end up going to the mail center where a short, round-faced auburn haired girl was standing near the entrance. Kyungwon squints as she recognizes her, pointing a finger once they get close enough.

“I’ve seen you before,” she says. The girl opens her mouth, but Minkyung speaks before she can introduce herself. 

“This is Bada,” she says. Bada waves shyly. “I told her about your little project, and she’s here to help.”

Kyungwon narrows her eyes, glaring at Minkyung. “You brought someone else into this?”

Minkyung shrugs. “I figured you needed all the help you could get.”

“Unless she’s another biochem major, there’s not much help she can do.” She turns to the younger girl, lifting an apologetic hand. “No offense Bada, I’m sure you’re lovely.”

“I can give you blood.” She says it with so much determination that Kyungwon can practically see her chest puffing out.

She frowns, shaking her head. “I don’t need human blo--” she starts, before the things start clicking in her head. Bada’s eyes glint with the slightest bit of gold. She has to look away as she’s filled with a sense of grief. _Dear lord, how did she drag a child into this_ , Kyungwon thinks.

The glare she shoots Minkyung is hopefully enough to change her mind (although she’s painfully stubborn, one trait that the both of them share.) “Do not make that kid give me her blood.”

Minkyung furrows her brow. “She’s volunteering, Kyungwon, I’m not making her do anything.”

“And where do you think she got the idea from?” At the older’s indignant look she shakes her head, grabbing Minkyung’s elbow and pulling her to another corner where Bada can probably still hear them. It’s odd that Minkyung lets herself be dragged every which way when she could easily free herself or just not budge, but she doesn’t complain.

“How old is that girl? Sixteen? Seventeen?” She huffs, running a hand through her hair. “You better not have turned her.”

Minkyung’s eyes widen before she scowls. “Do you really think I would do that?” Kyungwon gives her a look. _I don’t know what you would do anymore._ She sighs. “No, I didn’t turn her. She’s eighteen, and she’s my charge. Got turned a little under a year ago, but still wanted to make something of herself. I’m supposed to watch over her.”

Kyungwon nods, biting the inside of her cheek. “So that’s why you came here. For her, not for me.”

The clock near them ticks four times before she replies, “Yes, that’s why I came.”

Her chest starts to hurt. _Probably ate too fast,_ she reasons. She crosses her arms. “I’m still not taking her blood.”

“Fine, then take mine.” Before Kyungwon can object, she starts up again. “I might not be a science person, but I know that what you’re doing is going to take a long time and a lot of tests. That little half-empty tube that you got from the dark web isn’t going to last long, so here I am.” Minkyung throws her arms up from her sides, gesturing to herself. “Your free, endless supply of vampire blood.”

Kyungwon just stares, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes as Yaebin’s words come to mind. “Do you feel bad?” she asks.

Minkung’s gaze turns puzzled. She drops her arms. “What?”

“It’s a simple question.”

“I don’t know what you’re asking!”

“Do you feel the slightest bit of remorse about what you did to us? What you did to me?” Kyungwon lets out a bitter chuckle “Is that why you’ve been doing all this? As some weird sort of penance?”

Minkyung steps closer, furrowing her brow more. “You think I don’t _feel bad_?” she says, words laced with disbelief.

“Well you’re not answering the question, are you?” Kyungwon says hotly. Minkyung straightens her posture, looking into her eyes.

“I feel worse than you could possibly imagine,” she says. Her words sound honest, just like all the other times she would bare her soul.

Kyungwon thinks back to the scar in her mind and scoffs. “I think I have a pretty good idea.”

She sighs. “Kyungwon, if I thought that saying sorry would make things better then I would've said it a million times over by now.”

“Oh I don’t know, it might make things a little better.”

“No it wouldn’t. You would still be hurting, and I would still be guilty no matter how much I apologized. But I can promise that I’ll never leave again.”

Kyungwon’s vision starts to blur, tear ducts burning. She shakes her head, staring at the wall behind Minkyung. “Nope, you can’t promise that. Obviously there’s nothing keeping you here.”

“Yes there is.” She feels a light touch on her chin, making her look into her eyes. “I made a mistake. But you’re still my best friend, and I’m not planning on going anywhere else without you. Definitely not for as long as I was gone.”

Kyungwon pulls away, laughing off the embarrassment as she looks down and wipes a tear that threatens to fall. When she looks back up Minkyung is staring at her with wide, hopeful eyes. She takes a deep inhale, schooling her features. 

“I hope you’re not afraid of needles,” she jokes. Minkyung shakes her head, a smile growing on her face. “And I’m not touching the kid.”

“Deal.” 

“So I don’t think I’ve asked before, but how exactly does this ‘making a cure’ thing work?” Minkyung asks. They’re in the lab after hours, again. Kyungwon purposefully spaces out her visits so that no one catches on, but she’s still a little surprised that they haven’t been caught yet. Maybe Minkyung really does moonlight as a security guard. Or, more likely, Mr. Choi is very unobservant. Either way, she’s not complaining.

Kyungwon leans back from the computer screen, cracking her neck. “Well,” she starts, “When I first got the vampire blood I ran a program on here that compared it to my own. There were notable differences in the RNA, so basically I’m just going to try a bunch of different chemicals and elements on different samples of your blood until I find one that reverts the RNA back to the same as you’d find in mine.”

Minkyung nods, eyes glazing over. She bites her lip. “So what you’re saying is that it’s going to take a while.”

“Basically.”

Kyungwon goes back to her program before glancing up, seeing the lost look in the vampire’s eyes. “You didn’t understand that at all, did you?”

“I caught most of it. Ask me again in like two minutes, it’s been awhile since I’ve actively used chemistry.”

Kyungwon chuckles. “You never wanted to know how your new body worked? Ever?”

“First of all, that’s biology--”

“It’s both, technically. “Kyungwon smirks. “And I am the one getting a biochem degree.”

She rolls her eyes. “Fine, whatever. But no, um,” she bites her lip, looking down at her hands. “I think I pretty much got the gist of it when I turned.”

They sit in silence. Outside, the crickets chirp sparsely. Kyungwon straightens up, twisting in her stool to face the other girl. She leans forward, hands clasping between her knees. 

“What was it like?”

Minkyung closes her eyes, sighing. “It hurt. A lot. It was the most excruciating pain I’ve ever been in.” Kyungwon immediately fills with regret. She shouldn’t have asked her to relive the most painful night of her life. But Minkyung keeps going, for some reason. And out of morbid curiosity, she lets her.

“The doctors ruled that I was, miraculously,” she lets out a bitter laugh with the word, more like a cough with how sudden and raw it is. “Virtually alright. They thought that you got the brunt of whatever jumped us--which, technically you did--but my parents wanted me to stay in the hospital just in case. Sometime during the night I started getting super cold, and I wouldn’t stop shivering. Then I started losing feeling in my fingers, and in my limbs. I-I couldn’t move.” Minkyung laces her fingers together, clenching them tightly. 

“The scariest part was when my heart stopped, I think. It was like my autonomic nervous system just shut down. My heart stopped beating, my lungs stopped taking in air. I felt like I was suffocating. I could feel myself _dying_. I had to force myself to breathe, really concentrate on it, and when I did...it felt wrong. Unnatural. Awkward. So I just didn’t breathe. Eventually I stopped feeling like I was choking.”

“I fell asleep, somehow. But when I woke up, it was horrible. My head was pounding, and I just...I felt too much. All the lights hurt my eyes. My ears rang with every little noise, I felt like I could hear the entire hospital. Every beep, every breath, every heartbeat. And my nose...it took weeks for me to stop smelling blood. And you were next to me, sleeping on our dinky hospital bed that wasn’t made for two. You were the most delicious thing I’d ever smelled. It was like I was drawn to you, infinitely more than I usually am. Everything in me was telling me to devour you, to suck you dry.” Minkyung looks up, her face stony. “That’s when I knew that I had to leave.”

Kyungwon’s breath catches. She feels her pulse starting to race without her permission, her mouth going dry. With wide eyes she simply says, “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Minkyung shakes her head like she’s snapping out of the memory, giving a small smile that’s probably meant to be reassuring. “But it’s not a problem now, I’ve had a long time to learn to control it.”

“Uh huh…” Kyungwon takes a deep breath, flexing her fingers. Now it’s her turn to snap out of it. “So um, you don’t actually...eat anyone, do you?”

Minkyung’s eyes widen. “What? No, not a--” she pauses before sighing, not looking her in the eye. “Not in a long time. Nayoung got a job working nights at the local blood bank. She brings home a couple bags, and we ration them until we run out. I think the longest we’ve made them last was…” She cutely counts it out on her fingers, “two weeks?”

Kyungwon furrows her brow. “Ration?”

“Well yeah, the hospitals still need the blood. Some others aren’t as thoughtful though.”

Kyungwon feels something odd run through her...not pride, but a pleased feeling. A feeling of satisfaction. That Minkyung hasn’t changed too much, that she’s still the kind, moral person that she’s known her life. Then she fills with shame. While it’s true that a person’s experiences may change them, and they were apart for four years, it’s not fair to judge her only based on that time apart. Only based on what she’s become, and her opinion of that is only formed by stereotypes and bad movies. Just because her heart doesn’t beat doesn’t mean that she’s heartless.

She’s about to apologize when someone’s phone buzzes. Minkyung pulls out her cell, looking at it with a curious, then concerned expression. She stands suddenly, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “I’m sorry I have to go, Bada just texted. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” she asks. They never said anything about tomorrow.

“Yeah. Come to my place, I’ll send you my address.”

“Y-Yeah, okay,” she says, still a little confused. Minkyung’s out of the door before she gets out the last syllable. 

They meet the next day. Minkyung opens the door to their apartment before she even knocks, which is startling but not unexpected. As she walks in Kyungwon sees the sparkling kitchen counters, the neat stack of books on the coffee table, the general lack of clutter everywhere that she’s become accustomed to seeing. Everything is a nice neutral tone against dark wood floors, except for an intricate throw rug in the living room and a blood red couch. Several frames are up on the walls, from tacky movie posters to beautiful works of art. “Wow,” she says, looking around. “Your place is…”

“Interesting?”

“I was gonna say cleaner than mine, but that works too.”

Minkyung chuckles, leading her to the couch before going to the kitchen. “The posters are Bada’s. She has more in her room. It’s like permanently becoming a teenager brought out her grungy, rebellious side.”

Her words remind Kyungwon of something, and she furrows her brow. “How is that, by the way? Perpetual teenagedom.”

Minkyung returns with a glass of water, face scrunched up. So it’s something that she doesn’t like to think about, then. “It’s alright. Makeup and the haircut helps me not feel so young,” she flips her dark hair, looking at Kyungwon with a sultry expression. The younger girl rolls her eyes. “And it doesn’t hurt that I lost most of my baby fat freshman year.”

Kyungwon sighs. “That poor kid will never get the luxury.”

“I know, it’s sad.”

There’s a brief lull when she takes a sip of her water. Minkyung glances at her a total of four times before getting up and walking into the kitchen again. She comes back carrying a blood bag with a tube stuck in it like a straw, half empty. She doesn’t drink it immediately, setting it on the table. Kyungwon blurts it out before she thinks of the consequences.

“Can I see them?” she asks. She motions to her mouth, just in case she doesn’t know what she means. 

Minkyung frowns, but doesn’t deny her. She hears a sound that sounds a lot like bones cracking, sees her friend wince and rub her cheek before opening her mouth. Two shining fangs at least an inch long sit where her canines used to be. 

Kyungwon tilts her head, peering at them curiously. “Do...do they hurt?” She asks, coming closer. 

“Kinda. It’s like a dull ache.”

“And the whole bone snapping part?”

Minkyung chuckles. “Yeah, that hurts like a bitch.”

Hesitantly, she reaches forward, tracing down its edge with her finger. When she gets to the point of it she applies pressure, watching the skin dip in and feeling a slight sting. Minkyung moves her hand before she can get any further. A part of her wants to. 

“They’re sharp,” she notes. 

The grin Minkyung gives her could easily be predatory. She decides that it’s playful, for her state of mind. “What better to pierce human flesh with, my dear?” 

Kyungwon scoffs, scooting back on the couch. “Lame ass.” 

Minkyung leans back with a smug smile. “But you loved me for it.” 

The painting on the wall suddenly seems rather interesting. She hums, feeling the tension leave her shoulders. She relaxes her posture, taking a similar, comfortable position. “Yeah, I do.” 

She spies Minkyung starting to smile and mirrors it, catching the bug. This is nice. For a second, Kyungwon forgets. She tries to pretend they’re in a different world. A world where that night in the woods never happened, and Minkyung didn’t become a vampire and didn’t run away, a world where she had tried harder to find her. A world where they didn’t take different paths. 

Her imagination doesn’t go very far. Eunwoo would say that that’s a sign.

Minkyung looks away, smile faltering. Kyungwon furrows her brow as she sighs. “Listen, Won....I need to tell you something. You’re not going to like it.”

“Oh, well that’s normal.” Minkyung pouts, shoulders drooping. _Oh god she’s actually starting to look sad--_ “I’m kidding!” she says, smiling sheepishly. “I’m just kidding, what is it?”

She sighs again, pointedly not looking into her eyes. “I need you to stop your research.”

Kyungwon blinks at her, a laugh forcing itself out to break up the silence. “I’m sorry.”

“I need you to stop your research,” she repeats. Kyungwon realizes that she’s dead serious. She stands up, crossing her arms. Heat rises to her face.

“Why?”

“Because…” Minkyung trails off, looking at the floor. She scoffs.

“Wow, does this feel familiar.”

Minkyung stands too, stepping closer. Kyungwon backs up. “Kyungwon, if I could tell you I would, but there’s some things that I just can’t do.”

“And why not?”

“There are rules,” she says, and leaves it at that.

The dots connect too easily in her head. “So there is a council then? And you just do their bidding?”

“That isn’t how it works--”

“Isn’t it?” She scoffs again, shaking her head. “So this whole time you haven’t been trying to help me, you’ve been keeping an eye on me….I’m such a damn fool.”

Minkyung narrows her eyes. “Seriously? Why would I give you my blood if my whole plan was to shut you down?”

“I don’t know, how else would your fucking council know about what I was doing unless you told them?”

“Because they have people watching you!” Minkyung shouts. A chill goes down her spine, not just at the thought but at the action. There’s something in Minkyung’s eyes, more than anger, more than frustration. Desperation. 

She shifts her weight, fingers twitching at her sides. “That’s impossible. I would have known.”

“Would you? The only reason you heard that man coming for us that night was because he was weak, and he was hungry. He still almost killed you, and managed to turn me. A vampire that’s strong and well fed? On a mission?” Kyungwon blinks, and Minkyung’s gone. No, not gone. She feels a warm breath behind the shell of her ear and jumps away, hairs raising up on her neck. Minkyung’s stone-faced. “You wouldn’t even be able to scream.”

Her breath catches in her throat. “I-Is that supposed to scare me,” she breathes, voice shaking. Minkyung scoffs.

“I know you’re stubborn Kyungwon, but--”

“Then you should know I’m not stopping.” She swallows hard, watching as Minkyung starts to slump. “You can’t make me.”

The elder sighs, slowly stepping closer. She raises a hand and runs it through her hair, leaving some strands out of place. Kyungwon ignores the urge to fix it, sticking her hands in her pockets. “I know I can’t,” she admits. 

Kyungwon picks up her bag, heading to the door. “Thanks for the heads up.”

“Yeah, sure.” Minkyung goes to open it for her. Her throat bobs. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She looks at her incredulously. “You’re still going to help me?”

“How else am I going to make sure you don’t get murked?”

Right, that. Kyungwon nods, lips pulled into a tight line. “Right. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

_“You’re going nuts NuNu.”_

_No I’m not! I’m telling you, it felt so real.”_

_“Does this feel real?” Yaebin asks before smacking the blonde. Eunwoo yelps and tenderly touches the back of her head._

_“Yes asshole,” she says, glaring._

_Kyungwon only chuckles at her friends’ antics, dodging a couple of excited freshmen as they speed through the quad. She’d missed her chance to experience that first year giddiness about the activity fair, but it was still nice to see other people do so. Sort of like living vicariously through them, watching them explore the different clubs and groups on campus. There was a reason that she agreed to join them when her friends expressed that they wanted to go, taking the chance to get out of her own head._

_She turns back to Eunwoo as they stop and sit in one of the open areas between the lines of booths. “What was your dream about again?”_

_Yaebin rolls her eyes as the blonde starts up again, but still listens attentively. “So we’re eating at this hole in the wall joint or something--not sure where, but there’s a lot of brick.” She starts to gesture avidly, throwing her hands all over the place. Yaebin growls when one gets too close to her face. “You start going on about this whole secret research project you’re doing when all of a sudden this snake comes out of nowhere and bites you on the neck! And it must’ve been venomous or something because you start getting really pale and slouchy, and there’s these two little bite marks on your neck. So here I am thinking that you’re gonna die, but then you suddenly sit up and your eyes get blown all wide like you saw something.”_

_She suddenly stops, hands falling back into her lap. “And then I wake up.”_

_Kyungwon bites her lip, nodding. “Sounds...vivid.”_

_“It was.”_

_“It’s probably just a dream, Eunwoo,” Yaebin says, shrugging. “I dreamt about a naked grandma once.”_

_They both stare blankly at her. Eunwoo’s nose crinkles. “Was it your grandma?”_

_She shakes her head. “Just a grandma. Some old white lady.”_

_“Gross.”_

_“I know.”_

_Kyungwon shakes her head, taking a moment to look at her surroundings. A tall girl with dark, shoulder length hair and a cap covering her eyes walks by with an arm slung around her friend, a chubby cheeked girl with auburn hair that came up to her ear. The smaller one’s eyes were wide and bright, practically sparkling with every new booth she saw. A small smile began to grow on Kyungwon’s face. It was always cute when the freshmen have upperclassmen friends to show them around. She doesn”t seem to want to stray from her friend’s side though. Kyungwon watches her start to gnaw on her bottom lip, fingers twitching out._ **_Or maybe she’s not allowed to_ ** _, she thinks, furrowing her brow._

_Dark Hair’s head was also on a swivel, but for a different reason. She scans her surroundings with a small frown, every so often leaning over to whisper things to her friend. There’s something familiar about her that Kyungwon couldn’t (maybe shouldn’t) place. Her brain was missing a piece of the puzzle, and it wasn’t going to let her move on until she found it._

_Then she lifts her head, just enough so that her eyes are visible, and Kyungwon’s heart stops._

_"Hey guys, I think I saw my professor over there,” she points in a vague direction, not even looking. “I’ll be right back.”_

_She barely sees Yaebin give a thumbs up before standing and striding to where the pair were. Before she can think about it her hand slips into the taller girl’s with ease. She yelps as she gets pulled away, arm slipping off of her friend’s shoulder, but Kyungwon doesn’t look back. Memories flash through her mind as they walk out of the quad and into one of the alleys between buildings. She mentally tucks them away, swearing to unpack them later (or never, preferably.)_

_She releases her once they’re out of sight, looking around to see if they were alone. Then she grits her teeth, pushing a finger into Minkyung’s chest._

_“You’re dead,” she bites out. Minkyung has the audacity to chuckle, that little nervous laugh she always did. She loosely grasps her wrist and easily moves her hand._

_“Yeah I know….it’s a long story. But I’m right here in front of you.” She brings her entrapped wrist up to eye level, shaking it so that her hand flops around. “See? Right here.”_

_Kyungwon narrows her eyes, snatching her wrist back. “No.” She places two fingers on the side of Minkyung’s neck. They dance around the skin, trying and failing to find a pulse. Her eyes start to burn. She thinks she hears Minkyung’s breath catch, but it may have been wishful thinking._

_“No,” she says again. Minkyung just stands there, like she was waiting for something. Heat rises to Kyungwon’s face. “You’re dead.” Her voice is strong, covering for the despair hidden underneath._

_Minkyung sighs. “Yeah, I am.”_

_“You’re a vampire.”_

_She tilts her head little, eyes searching Kyungwon’s face for any sign of what she’s thinking. “Yeah...I am. How--”_

_“Doesn't matter. Where were you?”_

_Minkyung shrugs, avoiding her eyes. “Around.”_

_Kyungwon scoffs, crossing her arms. “Around, right. What are you doing here then?”_

_“I can’t tell you that.”_

_“Of course not.” She pinches the bridge of her nose. “Why did you leave? Why didn’t you come back sooner, Minkyung?”_

_“I--” Minkyung looks her in the eyes once. One split second, and then she’s staring at the ground and shifting her weight. Kyungwon scoffs, clenching her jaw.._

_“You can’t tell me that either. Unbelievable.”_

_When the older girl doesn’t respond she shakes her head and turns. She could pretend that this never happened. It might be a little difficult, but she could do it. Minkyung would go back to being a ghost, and she would go back to living her life. Pretending that that scar in her mind will ever close up. The scar that is currently on fire, setting any progress that she’s created ablaze. This isn’t her fault, and it isn’t her problem anymore. So she tries to leave._

_Minkyung’s hand grabs her wrist, stronger this time. She barely feels fingers dig into her skin, but when she tries to tug it away she almost dislocates her shoulder. She sighs, turning back around. Minkyung’s eyes are pleading, shoulders slumped. “Kyungwon...you can’t tell anyone else that I’m here.”_

_Of course. Kyungwon barks out a harsh laugh, bouncing off of the walls. “Of course. I wouldn’t dream of telling anyone important like your parents, or your brother, or your sister. And I wouldn’t dare to tell your girlfriend--oh wait.”_

_Minkyung winces, letting go. Kyungwon can tell that her fight is wearing out. Her eyes are starting to burn again, her limbs are getting heavy. She’s tired. She’s so tired. “Be honest,” she asks. “You didn’t plan on me knowing that you were here. And if you say ‘I can’t answer that,’ I’m going to slap you.”_

_Minkyung cracks a wet smile. Her eyes are starting to shine. She was always the easier cryer. “Then slap me.”_

_Kyungwon sighs, glancing back at the quad. Eunwoo and Yaebin are chatting with the club volleyball table, their heads occasionally rising up to look around. They’re waiting for her. They’re expecting her to come back._

_She looks back at Minkyung, biting her tongue. “I guess I’ll see you around then,” she says, and walks away._

  
  


Kyungwon doesn’t forget about what happened at Minkyung’s apartment--it’s not easy to forget that you have dangerous vampires stalking you and ready to kill on command. She also doesn’t forget about what Minkyung herself did, the sudden reminder that her old friend is one of the most dangerous things she’ll ever see. It’s startling. So, more than a week later, she’s still keeping her at arm's length. It’s an act that hurts more than she thought it would, considering past circumstances.

“It’s almost Halloween,” she brings up one day as she rapidly scribbles in her notes. They made progress the other day. A slight, barely noticeable change in the RNA, but her eyes lit up all the same. Progress is progress. 

“That’s nice,” Minkyung says, not looking up from her book. It seems like she’s also distanced herself in the past week. Kyungwon wants to say that it’s for her sake, but she’s honestly not sure. “Did you ever return to the Jennifer’s Body costume? That was hot.”

“I’m afraid I was too traumatized to even look at it again, but I’ll keep that in mind.”

Minkyung winces, glancing up at her. “Sorry.”

She shrugs. “It’s fine. I’m actually going back home that week.” Minkyung furrows her brow.

“Really? Why?”

“It’s been four years,” she says nonchalantly. Minkyung bites her lip, looking at the wall behind her head. 

“Oh.”

Kyungwon narrows her eyes. “‘Oh?’ That’s all you have to say?”

“Well what do you want me to say, Kyungwon?”

“I’m sorry? Can I come with you? How has everyone been?”

Minkyung runs a hand over her face. “Um, how have they been?”

“Would be better if they knew that you were alive.”

“Kyungwon, please,” she sighs. Kyungwon stares her down for a moment before conceding.

“Your parents are doing alright. Losing you took a toll on them, but they’re strong, you know that. My parents manage to keep them busy, going out for weekly dinners and stuff. Mingyu got an internship with Universal a couple weeks ago, so that’s exciting, and Chaeyoung’s getting fairly good grades now. Adjusting to college was rough, but she got through it.”

“Are they still…”

“Still looking for you? Yeah.” Kyungwon rubs at her eyes. “The posters are still up all over town, I think they replace them. Both your siblings’ Twitter pinneds are your missing information.”

Minkyung frowns. Kyungwon sighs. “I don’t see why you don’t just go back. I mean you said it yourself, you have your weird bloodlust shit under control now. You’re not a threat to them anymore.”

“I can’t just go back,” she says, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

“Why not?”

“Because there are rules.” Kyungwon huffs. _Of course, this shit again._

“What rules? What are you so afraid of that you didn’t go back home the minute that you could control yourself, because I know that you wanted to.”

Minkyung sighs, closing her book and setting it down. It’s like she realized that they wouldn’t be finished with this conversation anytime soon. “Whenever a new vampire is turned, we get this whole speech about how our transformation is this...rebirth. Physically, mentally, and socially. We have the opportunity to leave our old lives behind and create new ones.”

Kyungwon’s jaw clenches. “And you just took that opportunity at the drop of a hat, huh?”

“Kyung—“

“No!” She smacks the table and stands up abruptly, starting to pace back and forth. “I don’t understand what ‘opportunity’ they gave you. I’d understand if you had a bad life, if you had always wanted to run away but this is different. You loved us. You loved _me._ ”

Minkyung narrows her eyes. “I don’t appreciate you acting like I wanted to do all those things,” she growls

“Didn’t you?”

“No! I fought to try and come back, swore up and down to keep my nature a secret, to keep myself under control.” She slumps, closing her eyes. “But at the end of the day I had a responsibility, and I had a difficult choice to make.”

Kyungwon hangs her head, taking deep breaths. It’s the only sound in the room. The crickets seem to have vacated the building. Minkyung doesn’t try to coax or comfort her, doesn’t say anything. She sits tall with her hands hanging between her legs, gaze unwavering. Her eyes hold something else in them. Sympathy, but not remorse. Kyungwon feels her face heat up.

“So you just gave up?” she asks.

A long pause settles in the room. Minkyung sighs. “Yeah Kyungwon, I gave up.”

She scoffs, turning away. “Unbelievable.”

She hears the sound of a stool rolling away. Minkyung’s standing directly behind her, only inches away when she turns away. “You’re being selfish.”

“Don’t you think I have the right to be?”

“No, I don’t actually. I get that I just suddenly, I get that I left a hole in your life with no explanation, but you can’t act like it was all sunshine and roses for me. I went through shit too!”

“Oh yeah?”

“You’re in pain from a single night four years ago, but I have been in constant pain since that night in the woods. I have done things that I couldn’t possibly live with, and yet I’m forced to.” She releases a bitter laugh, gesturing to the space around her. “You’re living a good life Kyungwon! You have good friends, you’re getting an education, you’re becoming who you were always meant to be. I knew that you could live without me, and I was right.”

Another pause. Kyungwon feels her body start to cool, goosebumps rising from the chill in the room. She bites her tongue until it stings. “Could you?” she asks, head tilted and brows raised. An earnest question, and a dangerous one.

Minkyung smiles sadly. “No,” she answers. “But it’s a good thing I’m dead, right?”

She doesn’t know how to respond to that. Her mind only pulls up blanks when she requests a way to segway from the statement. It’s as unsettling as it is eye-opening. At no time had Kyungwon ever thought that their separation was for the best, but a part of her always wondered if Minkyung thought so. If _that_ was the reason she was gone for so long. Because she was better off without her. (And in the end, was it? Was she? Were they?)

That same sad smile stays on Minkyung’s face as she turns and walks back to her spot at the table. She grabs her bag and her book, throwing the former haphazardly over her shoulder. “I should go,” she says. Too late, Kyungwon steps forward with an outreached hand.

“Minky wait, you don’t have to--”

“Bada needs me.” She lifts her phone, like it’s an example. It hadn’t rang the whole time they’d been there. “See you next time?” she asks. Kyungwon bites her tongue and nods, letting her go.

The walk home is lonely. She’d gotten used to Minkyung traveling at least half the way with her since they’ve started their little partnership. They didn’t talk much, not as easy as before, but it was nice to have someone there. Without her the air feels thinner, she has more weighing on her mind. She’s never been a fan of leaving things on a sour note.

She...fucked up, simply put. Minkyung was right (she usually is.) She was too focused on how the vampire made her feel than how she felt in the same amount of time and probably with less of the support system. ...Was it too much to be so wary? So initially unapproachable? How much did it hurt Minkyung when she was trying to protect herself?

Her thoughts are interrupted when her phone buzzes in her pocket. Eunwoo’s contact picture pops up on the screen, and she clicks accept before bringing it up to her ear.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I had that dream again,” she says, nearly a whisper into the receiver. She sounds shaken. 

Kyungwon furrows her brow. “The one with the snake?” Eunwoo doesn’t respond, but she thinks she nodded judging by the sound of something rustling. The same dream had been reoccuring for nearly a week now, happening basically every time the blonde closes her eyes. Regular sleep, naps, even her daydreams in class. She’s convinced that she’s haunted, and that it has to mean something. Kyungwon can imagine her now, sitting up with her knees tucked up to her chest under the sheets.

“Did you tell Yaebin?”

“No, I didn’t want to wake her up.”

She sighs. “Alright, well you know the deal. There should still be some milk in the fridge, put on a couple episodes of Powerpuff Girls and I’ll be home before you know it.”

Eunwoo takes a deep breath, her voice sounding steadier when she speaks again. “I’m scared Won.”

Kyungwon runs a hand through her hair. “It’s fine, alright? It’s just a dream. Eventually your brain will find something else to fixate on and it’ll all be over.”

“Regular dreams don’t happen this often, Kyungwon. It’s like this shit is imprinted on the back of my eyelids. Everytime I close my eyes I just see you getting bit and dying over and over. At this point I don’t even get to the end of it, I wake up before it happens.”

Well she can’t say that that doesn’t shake her a little bit. She’s well aware of how irregular Eunwoo’s dreams are, with the consistency and the vividness. But she’s the oldest, she has to take care of her friends. Right now that includes trying to convince Eunwoo that she’s not crazy.

“Look I’m almost home, alright? And then you won’t have to worry a bit about me because I’m right in your line of sight. Just sit tight.”

“...Okay,” she agrees reluctantly. “Please stay safe.”

“I will.”

She ends the call, tucking her phone away. A few minutes later she’s walking past a dead end alleyway when someone grabs her by the shoulders, quite literally throwing her in. She lands with a grunt, scrambling to her feet as three men slowly walk towards her side by side. They were all fairly distinguishable from each other. Both of the men on the sides had dark hair, but one was around her height with a buff torso while the other was tall and sort of slim. The one in the middle was only a little taller than the shortest man, and had blonde hair that fell into his eyes. He was wearing a dark suit while the other two wore street clothes. They stop about four feet away from her.

“Kang Kyungwon?” the blonde man asks.

“Who’s asking?” She lifts her chin, standing tall. He assumes a regal stance, hands clasped behind his back.

“The Count sends his regards.”

She squints at him. “The Count? Like Dracula?” she repeats, quiet giggles spilling out of her lips. Her laughter stops as soon as the two on his side step forward. She backs up closer to the bricks. “O-Oh you were being serious. That’s fine, that’s cool.”

His lips twist into what she thinks is a smirk. “You’re a very impressive woman, Ms. Kang. Very bold too, to be doing what you’re doing. Unfortunately, the continuation of your research is not in our best interest.”

Kyungwon furrows her brow. “Look, I think we have a misunderstanding here. I’m not trying to eradicate the vampire race or whatever, I just want to help my friend.”

“Yes, Minkyung.” She almost asks how they know her name before she realizes, of course. Minkyung works for their boss and they’ve been stalking her for weeks and she and Minkyung have been getting closer, of course they know. “We know exactly what you’re trying to achieve. Your devotion to her is...cute.”

Heat rises to her face. She glares at him. “If you already know then why are you threatening me?”

“Because of what will happen if you change your mind, or if someone takes it for themselves. And who’s to say that you two won’t go back and tell the truth? There are many possibilities here.”

“That will never happen,” she says. That was never part of the plan. Cure Minkyung, go home, and pretend that that night never happened. Have things go back to normal, _that_ was the plan. But in her heart, she knows that that plan has changed. Who’s to say it won’t change again?

“You’re right, it won’t,” he says, and menacingly walks closer with his cronies. She steps back until her fingertips brush the bricks, pulse racing. They stop only inches away. “Because we’re here.”

She feels the punch before she sees it, a powerful hit to the stomach that makes her feel like she’s about to puke. It’s impact folds her in half, making her susceptible to a knee to the nose. After that it all comes too quickly, blows to the head and the face and the ribs. The man in the center doesn’t move from his position, not even a twitch. 

“Stop,” someone says. He signals for his lackeys to stop, turning around with a smirk. Kyungwon falls to the ground, curled up against the wall. Blood drips from her (definitely broken) nose and stains her white shirt. Her ribs are digging into a different organ with every small twitch, but she manages to sit up. Makes out the shape of a tall, darkly dressed figure at the entrance to the alley. 

“Ah yes, the woman of the hour,” he announces. “Are you ready to see your friend pay for your ineffectiveness?”

“She hasn’t done anything,” Minkyung says. She sounds pained.

He clicks his tongue against his teeth. “Don’t be foolish. If she hasn’t yet, she will. We’ve been through this before.”

“So what, you’re going to kill her? It’s too risky.”

“Of course not, that was your job.” _What?_ She thinks she sees Minkyung scowl, hears a growl escape from deep in her throat. “But this is her final warning. Do your job, or someone else will do it for you. And you’re aware that the others don’t have as much...restraint as I do.”

“Fuck you Jeonghan,” Minkyung spits. He only sighs in response before snapping his fingers. They’re gone in the blink of an eye, leaving only the two of them in the alley. 

Minkyung gasps as soon as she sees her, racing towards her and nearly stumbling her way into a concerned kneel. Kyungwon scrambles away the best she can, moaning as the pain in her torso increases. Fuck she hopes she’s not bleeding internally. 

“Kyungwon, stop running,” she orders. Her muscles lock up, and she stops mid-shuffle. She blinks, furrowing her brow. Minkyung’s eyes are nearly glowing, a bright, intoxicating amber.

Her jaw drops. “Did you just brainwash me?” she shrieks.

“I needed you to stop!” 

“That’s so not cool!”

“Kyungwon, please.” She sits back on her heels, eyes now back to normal. The new normal. Brilliant gold instead of dark brown. “I need to heal you.”

“How?” Minkyung opens her mouth, but she stops her with a raised hand. “First of all, wh—“ she starts, grunting as she sits up more. “What did they mean by ‘that was your job?’ You’re going to kill me?”

“No. Never,” she says, before closing her eyes and sighing. “It’s a long story, but I promise that I have never wanted to harm you.” She pauses, shrugging. “Well, maybe a few times.”

Kyungwon doesn’t smile. “And have you ever been ordered to?”

She sighs again. “Why do you think we’re in this alley.”

Kyungwon coughs, and she sees Minkyung’s eyes widen when blood splatters onto her hand. She hears the sound of bones cracking before Minkyung quickly tears into her wrist with her fangs. She brings it up to her mouth. “Drink.”

She suddenly understands why Minkyung covers her nose whenever she’s near this stuff. It smells...rancid. Spoiled. Still with the overwhelming metallic scent, but mixed with something so potent and acidic that it burns the inside of her nose. She looks up at Minkyung, brows raised. “Excuse me?”

Minkyung rolls her eyes. “Please don’t be stubborn right now, alright? Because I’m going to heal soon, and then I’m just gonna have to tear myself open again and again until you drink.”

“Or, just a thought, you could take me to a hospital!” She sees Minkyung’s skin start to stitch itself together, then looks into her eyes. Minkyung bats at her nose before returning to her intense stare. _Oh, she’s not kidding._

“If you go to the hospital then the police will get involved, and you’ll have to explain who did this to you.”

“I could leave out the whole vampire part.”

“That wouldn’t matter, they would still be after them. Those were three of the council’s best operatives, they don’t need them on a wanted list. You’d be dead before the police even get there.”

Kyungwon’s breath catches in her throat. “Jesus.”

“Yeah.” Minkyung rips into her wrist again. “So drink. It’ll heal you.”

“ _Just_ heal me?”

She narrows her eyes. “...yeah?”

“I’m just saying that for all I know vampirism is transferred through fluids so—“

Minkyung lets out a loud sigh before sticking her wrist in her open mouth. “For someone who just got brutally beat in an alleyway, you sure do talk a lot.”

It doesn’t taste any better than it smells. While the blood in her mouth had advantage of being distilled with her saliva, Minkyung’s is warm and thick—and quite honestly, fucking disgusting. She gags a couple times before it goes down. She wonders how long it took for Minkyung’s tastebuds to change, or if they ever did. Well they would have to, to find her...devourable, as she said. Human blood probably tastes better anyways. She has no desire to test that theory.

As she drinks she feels herself healing. It’s not as magical as it sounds. Her bruises un-bruise and her blood vessels un-burst, but she has to detach herself from Minkyung’s wrist when her nose abruptly snaps back into place and her ribcage forms back together.

She squeezes her eyes shut, breathing heavily as she slumps over. Minkyung’s stroking her hair, murmuring things that are probably supposed to be comforting. The taste of blood lingers, sticks to the roof of her mouth and settles at the bottom and clings to her teeth for dear life and— 

She opens her eyes and wipes her mouth, pointing her finger at Minkyung. “ _Never_ make me do that again,” she breathes.

Minkyung doesn’t respond. Instead she lets out a wet chuckle, wrapping her arms around Kyungwon’s shoulders and pulling her in tightly. Moments later, her hands tightly grip the fabric of her coat.

_It’s cold. She shivers under the blankets, head resting on Minykung’s stomach. It’s like the other girl doesn’t even feel the chill of November’s nights. She practically begged to keep the window open though, something about it clearing out her sinuses. Kyungwon just shrugged and grabbed two extra blankets and a hoodie (which was hers in the first place, actually, but she’s never been bothered enough to ask for it back.)_

_“Do you really not feel cold?” she asks. After a few seconds with no answer she sits up, seeing Minkyung staring at a spot on the ceiling. She snaps her fingers in front of her face, watching as she blinks before glancing down, eyes refocusing. Kyungwon smirks. “Thanks for coming back down to Earth, Minky. And here I thought I had the head injury.”_

_Minkyung frowns, bringing a hand up to tenderly touch the stitches hidden by a curtain of dark hair. “That’s not funny. The doctors said you bled a lot.”_

_“But I’m fine now, alright?” She rolls her eyes when the other girl doesn’t respond. Kissing her growing frown, she pulls back with soft eyes. “I’m fine. The stitches will heal in a couple weeks, and I’ll be good as new. The worst is over.”_

_Minkyung unconsciously cups the left side of her neck, covered with a thin patch of gauze. “Unless our parents have managed to get us out of that mandated therapy, I wouldn’t speak so soon.”_

_Kyungwon snorts, shaking her head. “I don’t see why we have to do that anyways. I was knocked out for basically all of the damn thing, and we walked away with barely a scratch.”_

_“We’re two teenage girls who got attacked by some random man in a dark forest on Halloween night,” Minkyung explains. “They’re probably just covering all their bases.”_

_“Well when you put it that way it makes soooo much more sense.”_

_Minkyung giggles. Kyungwon relaxes against her again as she starts to stroke her hair. “How does it feel to be 17?” she asks. The younger girl shrugs._

_“Like I’m 16 plus a few days.” She yelps when Minkyung flicks her forehead._

_“That’s lame.”_

_“I’m serious! 17 is like 8:00pm, or a Thursday. It’s a stepping stone to the more exciting thing.”_

_Minkyung seems to accept her answer, rolling her eyes. “Whatever you say.”_

_"I have a point though.”_

_“I said whatever you say!”_

_Kyungwon’s laughter fades into the night, replaced by the song of crickets and the nearby train. She can feel her eyelids getting heavy, encouraged by her body’s response to the cold and a gentle hand running through her hair. When she glances up, Minkyung’s starting at the ceiling again. She would ask what she’s being so pensive about, but she’s learned that sometimes it’s better to let her come forward after all the thinking was over._

_“You know I love you, right?” Minkyung asks, just as her eyes start to close. “Like, a lot.”_

_She nuzzles further into her stomach, getting more comfortable. “Yeah babe, you can tell me how much you love me in the morning.”_

_Minkyung’s hand slows its steady pace. She doesn’t respond for a while. Even in her sleepy haze Kyungwon can hear her gulp. Immediately after though, things go back to normal. Her eyes stay closed, and she feels herself falling into the familiar heaviness of sleep._

_“Yeah,” Minkyung says, distant, “in the morning.”_

_In the morning, she’s gone._

She wakes up on Minkyung’s couch. She doesn’t remember falling asleep, but she must have passed out sometime soon after Minkyung whisked them away from the alley. First she hears two voices arguing in another room. Secondly, she realizes that her phone is ringing. And that she has at least twenty missed calls. _Fuck_.

She sits up with a groan, answering with a raspy, “Hello?”

“Kyungwon? Where the hell are you, you should’ve been home hours ago!” Yaebin’s practically yelling into the receiver. She winces, distancing it from her ear. Her head is pounding, and blood doesn’t mix well with cottonmouth. 

She stands on shaky legs, slowly walking towards the kitchen. “I’m fine. I’m at a friend’s place.”

“And you didn’t think to tell us first? Eunwoo’s been hysterical.”

She wedges the phone between her shoulder and her ear, opening several cabinets before finding a cup. The faucet runs loudly when she turns it on. She furrows her brow. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know, she’s just been crying and going on about how you’re dead and that it’s all her fault.” Kyungwon’s eyes widen at the news. _Oh god, her dream_ , she realizes.

The cup rattles as she drops it in the sink, fingers pressing incessantly on her wrist. “Come on, come on, come on…” she mutters, searching for a pulse.

“Kyungwon?”

Her wrist pulses against her middle finger. She releases a breath that she didn’t know she was holding. “Yeah, I’m still here. Definitely not dead.”

“Wonderful. Let me put you on speaker.” 

It’s not long before the sound quality changes. She hears quiet sniffles in the background, the sound of someone sitting on the couch. “NuNu?” she calls.

“Wonnie?” she hears, accompanied by another sniffle. She chuckles.

“Yeah you big baby, it’s me.”

“Where are you?” 

“Friend’s place.” She finally takes a drink out of her abandoned cup, sighing in relief and smacking her lips. She looks towards one of the doors where the arguing was coming from. “Can you two come bring me home? I’m just...I’m really tired.” 

“Yeah sure, just send us the address.” 

She takes the phone away from her ear, switching to messages and quickly texting it to Yaebin. She doesn’t remember when she committed Minkyung’s address to memory.

“I’m glad you didn’t die,” Eunwoo says before blowing her nose. Kyungwon’s nose crinkles. 

“Yeah, me too.”

“Love you, we’ll see you soon,” Yaebin says. 

“Love you too, be safe” she replies before hanging up. She brings the cup up to her lips again.

“Your friends are cute,” she hears from behind her. She spits out her water, turning around with a hand clutching her chest. Nayoung gives her an unimpressed stare.

She relaxes slightly, leaning back against the counter. “Jesus, Nayoung. Please don’t do that again.”

Her eyes take on a sympathetic look. “Right, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Kyungwon waves the issue away. “I should probably get used to it anyways.”

“No you shouldn’t,” she sighs. Kyungwon blinks at her, wondering if she heard correctly. “But unfortunately, you’ll have to.” She doesn’t give any more comfort with that than her eyes, soft with condolence. Kyungwon swallows thickly.

“Where’s Minkyung?” she asks.

“In her room. She’s taking care of some things.” She nods, fingers tapping against the counter.

“You two were arguing?”

“Yes.”

“Because of me?”

“Yes,” she answers again.

“Why?”

Nayoung sighs. “Minkyung and I aren’t necessarily friends. We’re coworkers. We do favors for each other, we have each other’s back, we trust each other. Eventually, the more you work with someone, the more you come to care for them. I am decades older than Minkyung. That position of mentorship...I feel like I need to keep her head straight. To protect her, even from herself.”

Kyungwon bites her lip, furrowing her brow. “I get it...but what does this have to do with anything?”

“Minkyung’s always carried a ghost with her. At first I thought that it was some horrible secret, like the first person she killed after she turned or something. It didn’t take too long to figure out that that ghost was you.” Kyungwon’s eyes widen. Nayoung carries on. “It was always ‘Kyungwon this’ and ‘Kyungwon that’, she’d talk about the places you went to and the things you’d do, what your dreams were. How she wished she could be a part of them.”

Kyungwon feels tears start to well up and blinks away her blurry vision. “Eventually she stopped talking about you so much, once she realized how stuck she was. She still kept tabs on you though, for her piece of mind I guess.”

She tilts her head, eyes narrowing. “She told me that she didn’t know I went to school here.”

“She lied,” Nayoung deadpans. “Probably to keep you from thinking she was some weirdo stalker.” She scoffs and rolls her eyes at that. “She’d already been assigned to watch over Bada, but when the kid said that she was planning on going here she fought hard for her. Promised to take responsibility if something went wrong, practically swore her life on it.”

Kyungwon blinks away more tears, feeling her face heat up. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you asked why we were arguing,” Nayoung says, shrugging. “Right now she’s trying to arrange a council meeting, basically to try and save your life. She’s vouching for you. It will be all on her to protect the secrecy of our kind, and if she fails she will be punished dearly for it.”

“Why the hell would she do that?”

“Why do you think?” At Kyungwon’s blank stare the older woman rolls her eyes. “Honestly Kyungwon, you’re the second smartest person in class. I know you’re not stupid.”

She chooses not to respond to that. Instead she stares at her feet, watching her toes flex against the tile floor. The faucet drips rhythmically beside her until Nayoung comes and shuts it off. She closes her eyes. “How do I get her to stop?”

"You can’t. You won’t.”

She lifts her head, looking her in the eye. “And how do you know that?”

“The only way they’ll stop coming after you is if you stop your research,” she says. “She would never ask you to give up something that important to you.”

Kyungwon pinches the bridge of her nose. “Are you going to the meeting?”

“Yes.”

It’s too easy of a decision. Maybe it would be harder if this had been her life’s work, but it wasn’t. It was a last ditch attempt to try and get her girlfriend back. She never intended it to be a widespread cure. It was a selfish desire, not a humanitarian project. 

And Minkyung is too selfless, trying to sacrifice her position and possibly her _life_ for her. She thinks back to last night in the lab, the older’s words echoing in her head. It all starts to make too much sense.

“I’ll stop,” she says. The words slip out easily.

Nayoung gives her a small smile, just as someone knocks on the front door. “Good choice,” she says. Then she goes to answer the door, Kyungwon following behind.

“Wow you’re tall,” she hears Yaebin say. Nayoung tilts her head, narrowing her eyes.

“Thanks?”

Eunwoo elbows her friend, peering through the doorway. “Is Kyungwon here?”

“The one and only,” she announces, coming up behind the vampire. Eunwoo squeals before nearly tackling her in a hug, closely followed by Yaebin. 

“You’re not dead, you’re not dead,” she murmurs to herself, like a mantra. Kyungwon squeezes them tightly before letting go. 

“No, I’m not dead.”

“What happened?” Yaebin asks. Kyungwon sighs, glancing up and seeing Nayoung’s eyes over her friend’s heads. They read loud and clear. _Keep the secret._

“I’ll tell you guys later. Right now I just want to go home.”

Yaebin jumps back, dipping into a playful bow. “Your wish is our command.”

The room smiles at the shorter girl’s antics. Before she leaves Kyungwon looks over at the door to Minkyung’s room, still closed. She turns to Nayoung. “When it’s all over, can you tell her to meet me at my place? I’ll give her the address.”

Nayoung gives her a short, affirmative nod. Once the door closes behind her, she takes a deep breath before catching up to her friends, slinging an arm around each of their shoulders. “I vote that we call in for class today. All in favor?”

Their day off is easy and lazy, exactly how Kyungwon had hoped for it to be. Eunwoo passed out as soon as she got settled on the couch, but she’s relieved to see her sleeping like a baby. Yaebin sits cross-legged on the floor, packing for her monthly camping trip with her family. Kyungwon shakes her head. “I still don’t know why you only pack that one bookbag when you’re gone for like, three days.”

Yaebin shrugs. “Most of the supplies are back home, this is mostly just extras.” She pauses, lifting her head and sniffing the air. “Do you smell that?”

Kyungwon frowns. “Smell what?”

“It’s hard to describe...just like, dry and _stinky._ ” She wrinkles her nose, batting at it like that would shake away the smell. Kyungwon opens her mouth again just as someone knocks on the door. She gets up to open it, seeing Minkyung on the other side with her fingers laced together. 

“Hi,” she breathes. Kyungwon’s lips curl into a small smile.

“Hi.”

The vampire peeks in through the doorway. “Can I come in?”

Kyungwon’s brows knit together “You don’t actually have to be invited in, do you?” Minkyung gives her an unamused look, essentially answering her question. “Oh that’s wack. But yes, you are allowed into my home. We can talk in my room.”

“Thank you.” She walks in, waving to Yaebin on the floor. Yaebin narrows her eyes, probably remembering that day in the cafe, but she waves back. Kyungwon quickly leads her to her room, hoping to avoid disaster. 

Kyungwon likes to think that she did a good job of translating her room back home to the apartment. The dark walls, the organized chaos of her desk, her keyboard stuck on the back wall. Her theory proves itself when Minkyung walks in and immediately sits on her bed, like a habit. She sits beside her, hands tucked under her thighs.

The traffic must be heavy outside with the amount of cars honking. A group of boys shout down the sidewalk, and she hears someone shut their window in the apartment below. She doesn’t look at Minkyung, instead watching the taller girl’s fingertips tap against each other as they hang between her legs. She feels eyes on her, but her hair doesn’t stand on end. She relaxes, even sighs.

“I did it all for you, y’know,” she says after a couple moments. Minkyung furrows her brow.

“What?”

“When I started... _attempting_ to make a cure, I only thought of you,” she admits. “I had no clue about any other vampires, if there even were any others--of course there were, but that wasn’t important. It was just you. How could I save you? How could I bring you back to me? That was the main reason, the only reason, really.” Kyungwon chuckles bitterly. “Selfish, I know.”

She leans forward, looking her in the eye. “And when I came back?”

Kyungwon shrugs. “Not much changed. I had this foolish thought that vampirism changed you into some...I don’t know, just something different. Something that wasn’t Minkyung, not _my_ Minkyung. Technically it did, but not in a bad way. You’re still the same, to some extent. But I was even more stupid to think that a cure would just magically bring you back, and that things could be like they were again.”

“So that’s why you gave it up? Because you lost motivation? You realized things weren’t that simple?”

“Well yes, but also because you were about to basically sell your soul away for me and I don’t fuck with that.” Minkyung cracks a smile, and her chest lightens a little bit. She sighs, continuing. “I’m sorry for what I said last night. Those four years were harder on you than they ever possibly could be on me, and acting like they weren’t was really insensitive of me.”

“Thank you.” Minkyung turns her head, eyes landing on the picture-filled cork board above her desk. There’s a couple pictures of them up there, from when they were kids and preteens and teenagers. One stands out when she glances at them. It’s her on Minkyung’s back, both of them with wild smiles and holding those little handheld sparklers. She wonders if she’s looking at that one, or the one of them dressed as the Duchess and Thomas O’Malley for Halloween when they were eight. She still had the bowtie in a box back home somewhere. 

“You never actually tried to move on, did you?” Minkyung asks.

Kyungwon gives her a sad, tight-lipped smile. “I never really wanted to.”

They shift on the bed, now facing each other like they were painting nails and sharing secrets when they were younger. Minkyung reaches out and tentatively takes her hands, stroking the backs with her thumbs. “I’ll explain everything eventually, once I’m ready,” she says, then looks down at their joint hands. “There are some things that I don’t think you’re ready to hear yet, and that I’m not ready to share yet. But since you’re not continuing your research, the council has agreed to leave you alone. In this relative time of peace, I was hoping…” she sighs, looking Kyungwon in the eye. “I was hoping we could get a fresh start.”

Kyungwon lifts a hand to grasp her chin, pulling her in to connect their lips. They move on with muscle memory, falling into the familiar rhythm of the kiss. She melts into it, her other hand coming up to her neck as Minkyung’s hands go to her waist. The vampire tastes like mint, and the thought almost makes her burst into giggles. Of course she would brush her teeth before coming over, it was almost like she was expecting this. 

They pull away when Kyungwon needs air, taking a shuddering breath. Minkyung’s eyes glow in the shadow of her room. For a moment, she thinks about how they got here. The execution may have been a little different, but they’re still here. They’re here, and they’re together, and judging by the look of adoration on Minkyung’s face, they’re still the same. 

“Fresh start,” she agrees. 

**Author's Note:**

> “There’s something off about your little girlfriend,” Nayoung says. It’s her night for the tv, so they’re watching Chopped. Bada groans beside her as one of the chefs announces that he’ll be making a risotto with thirteen minutes left on the clock. 
> 
> Minkyung turns to her, brows knitted together. “What do you mean?”
> 
> She shrugs. “It’s just odd. Like, how the hell did she become close friends with a vampire, a seer, and a werewolf? And by the looks of it she has no clue about the other two.” Minkyung blinks at her dumbly, feeling Bada lean forward to stare at her roommate.
> 
> “What did you just say?”
> 
> Nayoung turns back to the tv, chuckling as she shakes her head. “You kids have so much to learn.”
> 
> remember that comments and constructive criticism is always welcome, and I hope y'all enjoyed :D


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